PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences

BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE SEMESTER: (RE) LEARNING EXPERIMENTATION IN ARTS AND CULTURE EDUCATION

William Schumann — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Black Mountain College Semester (BMCS) was an interdisciplinary teaching and public education project implemented in 2018 at Appalachian State University in mountainous western North Carolina, USA. BMCS drew over 30,000 attendees and participants despite the rural character of the project area. Based on the experimental pedagogy of the influential Black Mountain College (1934=1963), the ten-month, multi-sited BCMS project sought to create intentional spaces of interdisciplinary collaboration–bringing the humanities, social sciences, arts, and design sciences into conversation–but more importantly, to facilitate the development of experimental cross-disciplinary and academic-public collaborations independently of the project leadership team. This paper offers a brief overview of Black Mountain College, followed by a discussion of the decentralized project design and the analysis of two project case studies. BMCS planning started with the original College principles of experiential and democratic learning philosophy, which invited participation and collaboration across hierarchical academic silos. Fundamentally, the concept of independent inquiry, not specific project outcomes, drove this process. Faculty, administrators, staff, non-profit leaders, educators, and the public contributed to events as varied as exhibitions, public talks, workshops, publications, theater, music, and curriculum design across four project sites. The first case study describes an interdisciplinary faculty fellowship program, created by project leaders, to support the application of learning concepts from Black Mountain College in university courses. The second describes the process of creating an interactive website linked to three museum exhibitions that extended BMCS into public domains and extra-academic spaces of learning. Broadly, this paper analyzes the process of co-creating methods of experiential learning on and beyond a university campus. Project assessment data is utilized to contextualize public responses to BMCS and discuss future directions for the project.

REPRESENTING THE ISLAMIST POLITICS IN BANGLADESHI NEWSPAPERS: THE 2023 BARISHAL CITY CORPORATION ELECTION AS A CASE

Md. Rana Mia — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to explore the representation and news coverage of an Islamist political party- Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB) in three Bangladeshi mainstream and ‘quality’ daily newspapers- the Daily Star (DS), the Daily Janakantha (DJ) and the New Age (NA). In the context of the city corporation election- the 2023 Barishal City Corporation (BCC), the study has been conducted. It examines if the dailies either sidelined, ignored or favored this Islamist party. It observes where they pay more or less news value about IAB and its electoral campaign. Additionally, it argues that the candidate of IAB used myth through speeches to encourage voters. The myth— if you vote for hand-fan (electoral symbol of IAB), Allah and his messenger (prophet Hazrat Muhammad) will have the votes —was unchallenged and unquestioned and the advice not to use misinformation and misguide the voters found absent in the dailies. Though the IAB could not win the election, it was expected that mass media as social institutions would come forward with accurate information to inform people wisely and so that ordinary people would not be misguided. Through quantitative and qualitative content analysis, this study leads to the outcomes that these newspapers were silent to uphold the activities of IAB. The DS and DJ had a propensity to sideline and ignore the IAB and its electioneering despite receiving the second highest vote in the election. They prioritized ruling party Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JaPa) while the NA prioritized IAB through providing a better representation and emphasizing on different allegations made by this party. In future, this research can be a basement or pioneer for the researchers who will intend to look into the perspective of newspapers on political parties

CENTRAL STATE VS REGIONAL AUTONOMY - POLITICAL ELITE’S ACTION STRATEGY

Nino Pavlenishvili — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The role of the autonomous institutions is significant in the elaboration of the specific strategies conducive for the political elite of either regional autonomy or central state to achieve their territorial, political and economic goals. Functional autonomous institutions enable the political elite to mobilize its ethnic group and radicalize demands. Rational assessment of the geographic location, instrumentalization of primordial markers (focus on historical memory) and constructivist ascriptions along with structural situation in and out of both, the autonomy and central state defines contemplated ethnic politics with far-going consequences of the both, central state and autonomy. Autonomy’s political elite activates primordial ascriptions, as well as, constructionist attitudes, considers geographic location to mobilize ethnic followers, press claims for secession and influence central authority to upgrade autonomous status through negotiations or violent confrontation. The Central state political elite’s decision about action strategy selection depends on the structure of situation inside and outside of the country. While operationalizing selected strategy central administration applies primordial and constructivist approaches to impact local authority’s decision- making process. Two autonomous republics of the Russian Federation, Tatarstan and Chechnya, are explored in the first decade after collapse of the Soviet Union to test theoretically identified factors impacting formation of ethnic politics and action strategies in the central state and autonomy. The methods’ triangulation (process-tracing method, discourse analysis of the official document and public speeches and semi-structured interviewing) was utilized to validate the research findings. On its way to upgrade autonomous status, Tatarstan built civic nationalism guaranteeing peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups. Chechnya’s oppressive historic experience intensified rigid ethnic politics leading to protracted ethnic confrontation.

USE JD-R THEORY TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT—TAKING JOB DEMANDS AS THE MODERATING VARIABLE

Mei Jhen Yin, Chi Yu Chen, Yi Wen Yang, Po Han Hsu — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Past research has proven that employee experience has a positive impact on employee engagement. Based on the conceptual framework of Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) model, this study regards efficient employee experience as a job resource to explore the impact of "employee experience" and” job demands” on employee engagement in organizations. Work requirements are further divided into challenge demand and hindrance demand. This study adopts the experimental design of the scenario method and uses two two-factor independent sample designs, namely 2x2(employee experience is high / employee experience is low x challenging job demands is high / challenging job demands is low) and 2x2(employee experience is high / employee experience is low x hindering job demands is high / hindering job demands is low).A total of 176 valid questionnaires were collected. The research results found that when employee experience is high, employee engagement is higher than when employee experience is low. Employee experience and job demands have an interactive effect on employee engagement. When employee experience is high, employee engagement will be higher when challenging job demands are added than when hindering job demands are added. It is expected that the results of this study can help in theoretical and practical applications

ANALYSIS OF THE PROFITABILITY OF ALBANIAN BANK USING TIME SERIES MODELS

Olsi Xhoxhi — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research focuses on predicting the profitability of the Bank of Albania, specifically measured by Return on Assets (ROA), by employing advanced time series analysis techniques. ROA is a fundamental financial metric reflecting the bank's ability to efficiently utilize its assets to generate profit, and it holds crucial implications for the stability and sustainability of the central bank. In this research, we have obtained a monthly dataset regarding the profitability of Albanian banks (Roa), covering the period from January 2016 to March 2023. Following an extensive data analysis, we have determined that the SARIMAX(0, 0, 1)x(2, 0, [1, 2], 12) model is the most suitable option for modeling our dataset. The SARIMAX(0, 0, 1) element signifies a non-seasonal moving average component, addressing short-term fluctuations and irregularities in the data. The seasonal component, (2, 0, [1, 2], 12), takes into account both annual and semi-annual patterns, aligning with the observed seasonal trends in the data. The results are expected to be instrumental for policymakers, financial analysts, and stakeholders concerned with the Bank of Albania's financial health. By applying time series analysis to ROA prediction, this research not only aims to enhance the central bank's financial decision-making capabilities but also contributes to the broader understanding of financial stability within the context of Albania's economic landscape

IMPACT OF FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY ON INVESTMENT EFFICIENCY AROUND THE GLOBE

Muhammad Azhar Khan, Nabeel Safdar — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In developed markets, the documented enhancement of investment efficiency due to financial reporting quality has yet to address the question of whether such a correlation persists in emerging, frontier, and diverse markets. This study investigates the association between financial reporting quality and investment efficiency across 21,741 publicly listed firms spanning 36 countries worldwide, encompassing developed, emerging, frontier, and other markets. Comprehensive accounting data spanning the years 2000 to 2022 is gathered for all listed firms in 40 industries across these 36 countries having 166,453 firms-year observations. Causal connections are examined through fixed-effect regression analysis, supplemented by additional tests and robustness checks utilizing alternative proxies. Concerns about endogeneity are mitigated through 2SLS analysis. The results reveal a positive impact of financial reporting quality on investment efficiency for firms in developed, emerging, frontier, and other markets. Our exploration of both over-investment and under-investment scenarios demonstrates a more pronounced link between financial reporting quality and investment efficiency in the underinvestment scenario. These findings contribute to the existing body of evidence, indicating that beyond its influence on investment efficiency in developed markets, the relationship between financial reporting quality and investment efficiency holds true globally. This encompasses emerging, frontier, and other markets, characterized by varying levels of reporting quality and financial frameworks

BEYOND FRIENDSHIP: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF COST IN GIFT CHOICES FOR ONESELF AND OTHERS

Hyung Jun Kim, Jongkun Jun, Jooyoung Kim — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores how social closeness and self-identification influence the monetary value of gifts chosen for friends and for oneself. Integrating the Self-expansion Model with Resource Scarcity Theory, we provide insights into consumer behavior in gift selection under varying social and financial contexts.

A STUDY ON THE IMAGE NARRATIVE ISSUES IN ANIMATION NARRATIVE OF NOVICE ANIMATORS’ ANIMATION - A CASE STUDY OF THE SHORTLISTED SHORT FILMS IN THE 2019 TAINAN ANIMATION AGE FESTIVAL

Ya-Hsueh Lee, Yu-Yun Zhang — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The best animation depends on the image narrative and the use of the lens. In order to connect between the animation and the audience, both skills are significant and professional. General animation narrative requires that the story content be complete, have a beginning and an end, and pay attention to cause and effect. Through the structure of the beginning and development, the story can be advanced step by step. However, it’s important and challenging for novice animators to both deliver scientific knowledge and storytelling in a short. Whether it is the timing of the shot, the misplacement of the character's position, unclear vocabulary, unclear movements, or expressions, etc., many factors may cause the audience to not understand.

Therefore, given this situation, this study collected 6 animations which were made by students from the 2019 Tainan Animation Age Festival and then found out the common problems with novice animators by conducting participant observation and case study research. The result demonstrates the more common problem for novice animators is the animated image narrative, such as insufficient frames, unclear expression of character movements and expressions, unclear use of lenses, etc. This result can be a reference for novice animators or beginners.

EXPLORING THE INNOVATIVE APPROACH OF TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION – IN THE FIELD STUDY OF ACCOUNTING

Van Kam Tchiang — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Innovative approaches to teaching and learning have become indispensable in recent years, and the field of accounting is no exception. The use of various innovative approaches such as the crowdsourcing model, active learning, formative assessment, gamification, and active use of technology are examples of innovative pedagogies that can transform teaching and learning for tertiary education. These pedagogies can target skills that most impact students’ career prospects and social lives, and secure the necessary depth and breadth of skills needed for lifelong learning.

This research aims to explore the effectiveness of innovative pedagogies in teaching accounting. The study will involve interviews and surveys of accounting students to gather their perspectives on how innovative approaches impact their learning process. The research will investigate how innovative pedagogies can improve student engagement, enhance motivation, increase capacity for critical thinking skills, provide personalized adaptive learning processes, and foster learning development through collaboration.

In summary, this research seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature on innovative pedagogies in accounting education. By exploring the effectiveness of innovative approaches, this study aims to provide insights into how accounting educators can improve their teaching practices and better prepare students for the demands of the modern human resource market on novice accountants.

PROCESS OF EXPLORING CRITERIA FOR OBSERVING CHILDHOOD PLAY TO SUPPORT EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS

YungEui Yoo, BoKyoung Cho, SunHee Yang, MyeongHa Lee — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of exploring criteria for observing childhood play to support early childhood teachers. This study was conducted using a convergent design among mixed methods. ‘Literature research’ and ‘Delphi survey technique’ were used as methods of quantitative data collection, and ‘participation observation’ was used as a method of qualitative data collection. As a result of the study, observation criteria for a total of 21 questions in 3 areas were derived, including 7 questions on ‘play flow’, 7 questions on ‘play motivation’, and 7 questions on ‘peer play behavior’. This criteria for observing childhood play helps early childhood teachers to understand childhood play in depth from the children's perspective. In addition, it is expected that this standard can be used as a standard for observing childhood play with increased objectivity by reducing cases where each early childhood teacher who uses this standard interprets it differently due to subjective opinions. Furthermore, It is expected that this criterion will help early childhood teachers in kindergartens accurately understand childhood play and support childhood play.

SERIOUS LEISURE LEVEL AND WORK OF KOREAN WOMEN'S BASEBALL CLUBS - LEISURE CONFLICT

Mi-Lyang Kim, Rak-Heung Choi , Myeong-Ha Lee — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to verify the differences and relationships in work-leisure conflict based on the level of serious leisure among female baseball enthusiasts who participate in baseball as a serious leisure activity. To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted using a purposive sampling method among female baseball enthusiasts. Out of the collected surveys, a total of 175 were used for the final analysis, excluding 34 responses that were deemed insincere. In this study, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis, K-means cluster analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis methods were employed. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 Program and AMOS 26.0 Program.

The results of the analysis showed the following: Firstly, the analysis of differences in work-leisure conflict based on the level of serious leisure revealed a significant difference among female baseball enthusiasts. Secondly, the differences in the four sub-factors of work-leisure conflict based on the level of serious leisure were examined. Post-hoc analysis results indicated that only the negative affect_WL and time pressure_WL factors had significant differences based on the level of serious leisure. Thirdly, the impact of sub-factors of serious leisure on work-leisure conflict showed that only the personal effort factor had a negative influence on work-leisure conflict.This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between the level of serious leisure among female baseball enthusiasts participating in baseball as serious leisure and work-leisure conflict. Through this research, a deeper understanding of the lives of women participating in sports activities as serious leisure is sought

HOW THE PARATEXT SURVIVED THE MASTERPIECE

Sophia Guliashvili — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

There are 164 survived manuscripts of the masterpiece of the Georgian and world literary heritage The Man in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (12^th century), rewritten in the 17^th century and after. The oldest record belongs to the edge of the 16^th-17^th centuries and the oldest manuscript dates back to 1646.

Before the appearance of the 1st printed version, that is, until 1712, the epic reached in one editorial version, which is clearly not from Rustveli’s hands. All manuscripts containing this edition are preceded by the pseudo-Rustavelian introductory stanza that presents the poem as a secular work differing from the church ideology and writings; which teaches and advises the reader to distance themselves from the secular ideology of Persian origin represented in the epic, and says that monks and nuns are forbidden to pay attention to this ideology, so they mustn't read this text. It is interesting, that only those manuscripts of the epic have survived, which represented this one and only redaction where the text was preceded by a pseudo-Rustavelian stanza.

The detailed information on the manuscripts of The Man in the Panther Skin and the reality which made the pseudo-Rustavelian stanza to be useful in survival of “The Man in the Panther Skin” will be discussed in the current paper

ANALYZING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS THROUGH TEXT MINING AND SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF COVID-19 PUBLIC OPINION ANALYSIS FROM ONLINE COMMUNITY FORUMS IN TAIWAN

Shun-Chuan Chang — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the past, many quantitative studies in public health relied on traditional descriptive statistical data and less on analyzing unstructured text data. However, in the era of close online communication, a huge amount of text information related to public health issues is generated in online communities every day. COVID-19 pandemic should be one of the most important public health events in Taiwan since 2020. Many people express their views and feelings on the epidemic issue in online forums. In this research, the aim is to apply text mining and social network analysis to analyze the sentiment and topics related to COVID-19 in PTT, the most popular online community forum of social media in Taiwan. We used topic modeling to extract COVID-19 related topics and keywords, as well as sentiment analysis to explore the attitudes and emotional tendencies of the online community towards various issues, and data visualization methods such as word clouds and network graphs to present the research results. Additionally, we plan to conduct cluster analysis on the authors and accounts of the articles to determine if there is a phenomenon of specific groups influencing the COVID-19 public opinion. The expected outcome of this research is to provide a reference for the implementation of public health policies and to promote the value of sentiment analysis in public health management.

After conducting text mining analysis on the articles published in the COVID-19 forum of PTT in 2021, especially the period of Taiwan's COVID-19 escalation from June to August 2021. The overall discussion volume and sentiment can be roughly divided into three peaks. The first peak started to rise in mid-May and reached its peak in mid-June. The second peak occurred in mid-July, and the negative sentiment was significantly higher than the positive sentiment. The last peak occurred in late August and had the highest discussion volume among the three peaks. In each peak of sentiment, negative sentiment was mostly higher than positive sentiment. Our suggestion is to focus on the following research results that Public health managers can use daily text mining results by our way to assist in judging public reactions under current epidemic policies, and the positive and negative sentiment levels in sentiment analysis can reflect whether policies may lead to a crisis outbreak. Observing the subsequent changes in sentiment can avoid affecting the implementation effectiveness of the next policy or causing a more serious public opinion crisis. This research hopes to promote the value of sentiment analysis in public health management by visualizing the complex online forum opinions into easy-to-understand charts, which can serve as a reference for decision-makers in judging online public opinion.

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND CARBON EMISSION INTENSITY

Su-Yin Cheng, Han Hou — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Theoretic and empirical literature provides debate relationships between financial development and carbon emissions. Does financial development matters for carbon emissions? This study considers two additional aspects into the field. First is to consider a comprehensive measure of financial development that takes the functions of financial depth, efficiency, and access into account. Second, the nonlinear finance-carbon relationships build on the different development stages of financial system is considered. Considering the above two dimensions, this study explores the dynamic effects of financial development on carbon emissions utilizing pooled mean group estimator (PMG). By analyzing a panel of data for 82 countries from 1991 to 2020, we conclude that the effect of financial development on carbon emissions varies by the financial functions and the level of financial development. We find that financial access and financial efficiency are two critical functions reduce carbon emission intensity, while financial depth has an ambiguous effect on carbon emission intensity. To ensure environmental quality, this study stresses that financial system should provide broadly affordable financial services and increases efficiency.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: HOW SUBSIDIARY CREATE KNOWLEDGE BY RELATIONAL EMBEDDEDNESS AND KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS

Lu-Jui Chen — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, the relationship between environmental competitiveness and knowledge creation in subsidiaries is examined, suggesting that external relational embeddedness serves as a mediator and knowledge spillover acts as a moderator of this relationship. We analyzed a sample of 189 subsidiaries in Shanghai, Mainland China. The findings indicate that environmental competitiveness has a positive effect on the external embeddedness of subsidiaries. Specifically, subsidiary external relational embeddedness not only directly affects subsidiary absorptive capacity and knowledge creation but also has a fully mediating effect on this relationship. Regarding the effect of knowledge spillovers, only unconscious knowledge spillovers allow subsidiaries to expand their relational networks, increase their sources of knowledge, and notably increase their opportunities for knowledge creation. Both the theoretical and empirical implications are further discussed.

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

Yangming Fang — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Nowadays, with the concern of the public for corporate social responsibility, firms are increasingly concerned with social responsibility, and they need to know whether social responsibility is favourable for their profit. The study focuses on 3,536 Chinese firms and collects the data of them from 2006 to 2021. The study analyses the data with the method of regression to find the relationship between information transparency and ROA, as well as the moderating effects of voluntary disclosure and company loss. We also run regressions with a lagged score of information transparency instead of the current score as a robust check. After analysis, we find that a high level of information transparency is significantly beneficial for a great firm performance. Additionally, this relationship exhibits an increasing marginal effect in the firms in which information disclosure is voluntary and the firms that are facing losses. The findings of this study provide useful guidance for firm managers about whether to develop high information transparency

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF BENEFITS AND SACRIFICES FACTORS OF E-COMMERCE PAID MEMBERSHIP ON THE PERCEIVED VALUE AND INTENTION TO CONTINUE USING E-COMMERCE

Soeon Park — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, we apply VAM to explore the benefits and sacrifice factors associated with paid membership in domestic e-commerce and investigate the impact on perceived value and users' intention to continue using e-commerce. Additionally, this study assesses whether the impact of these factors on perceived value varies by membership type. Perceived benefit factors for paid e-commerce members include differentiation, enjoyment, sharing, point benefit, discount benefit, content benefit, and delivery benefit. Perceived sacrifices include fee, complexity, and lost opportunity. In the case of Coupang Rocket Wow, discount benefit, delivery benefit, and opportunity loss have a significant impact on perceived value. In the case of Naver Plus membership, discount benefit, point benefit, and fee were found to have a significant impact on perceived value. The perceived value of Coupang Rocket Wow and Naver Plus membership has a positive effect on the intention to continue using Coupang and Naver. Additionally, it was found that there was a significant difference in the impact of opportunity loss on perceived value between Coupang Rocket Wow and Naver Plus Memberships

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF GENERATIVE-AI RESPONSES ON USER EXPERIENCE AFTER AI HALLUCINATION

Hayoen Kim — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) systems into our daily lives has led to the phenomenon of "AI hallucination," where AI produces convincing yet incorrect information, undermining both user experience and system credibility. This study investigates the impact of AI's responses, specifically appreciation and apology, on user perception and trust following AI errors. Utilizing attribution theory, we explore whether users prefer AI systems that attribute errors internally or externally and how these attributions affect user satisfaction. A qualitative methodology, featuring interviews with individuals aged 20 to 30 who have experience with conversational AI, has been employed. Respondents preferred AI to apologize in hallucination situations and to attribute the responsibility for the error to the outside world. Results show that transparency in error communication is essential for maintaining user trust, with detailed explanations. The research contributes to the understanding of how politeness and attribution strategies can influence user engagement with AI and has significant implications for AI development, emphasizing the need for error communication strategies that balance transparency and user experience.

EXPLORING ALGORITHMIC EXPERIENCES IN OTT: WITH A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH

DongA Jeong, Sang Woo Lee — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper addresses the challenge of 'poverty in the midst of abundance' in OTT services, where a vast array of content makes it difficult for users to find what suits their tastes, often leading to subscription cancellations. U.S. market studies show users spend an average of 10.5 minutes searching for content, while in South Korea, they experience psychological fatigue during this process. This indicates a need for improved recommendation algorithms to enhance user experience and reduce service churn The research focuses on identifying attributes in OTT recommendation algorithms that users prefer, aiming to understand which specific features of recommendations are most valued by users. Findings reveal that effective recommendation systems, tailored to user preferences and feedback, can significantly enhance the user experience. Improved search interfaces and content curation are crucial for increasing user trust and satisfaction. The paper provides an academic foundation for understanding algorithmic interplay in OTT services and practical guidance for companies to develop more effective recommendation strategies. This research underscores the importance of user-centric approaches in OTT platforms to address the content overload problem and enhance overall service quality

ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS INDICATORS ASSOCIATED WITH MANUFACTURING IC CHIPS IN INDIAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Karam Bharat Singh, Subhas Chandra Misra — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Integrated circuit plays a crucial role in reducing the size, increasing the processing speed, and enhancing the dependability on the electronic devices. Notably, the widespread use of these technologies has led to advancements in various sectors, including the communications, healthcare, and automobile industry. This study rank and identifies the critical success indicators associated with the manufacturing IC chips in the Indian semiconductor industry by employing one sample t-test approach. Based on the existing literature, the study investigates sixteen success indicators associated with the manufacturing IC chips in India. In addition, experts from the semiconductor manufacturing organization have validated these factors concerning the Indian semiconductor industry. The research concludes that “Monitor the Time-to-Market (SI7)”, “Enhance Customer Satisfaction (SI13)”, “Assess the Yield Rate (SI11)”, and “Calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) for Cost (SI5)”, are the critical success indicators associated with manufacturing of IC chips, as per the t-test analysis from 152 respondents working in the semiconductor sectors. The findings have multiple implications for businesses and policymaker, and can assist various stakeholders, including global semiconductor companies, domestic manufacturers, and fabless semiconductor firms

SOVEREIGN GEOGRAPHIES, ERRANT PARTS & EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE

James S. Moy — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We exist in a significant geo-political nexus in the history of global development. African nations of the Sahel and indigenous peoples around the world have begun to kinetically resist neo-colonial initiatives to reimpose past suppressions. This paper surveys developments from 15th and 16th Century Papal Bulls through, government legislation and policy developments including the American Indian removal act of 1830, Berlin Conference of 1884-85, the Morgenthau Plan, late 20th Century Neo-Colonial exploitation and continuing early 21st century attempts at re-inscription of emergent rentier oppressions and trajectories. Within this context, this piece concludes with a pointed discussion of social media and its place in subverting the governmental attempts to control the narrative of the global order in light of recent geo-political developments and the global history of suppression.

THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CERTIFICATION ON CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE IN THE NETHERLANDS MARKET: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF COMPANIES FROM INDONESIA AND THE NETHERLANDS

Haidar Rahmady Indratno — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) certification, product country of origin, and consumer acceptance in the Netherlands market, focusing on coffee beans. Rooted in Sen & Bhattacharya (2001) and Matten & Moon's (2008) insights, the research considers the moderating effect of the country of origin, drawing on Peterson & Jolibert's (1995) perspectives. By using a randomized detailed survey and a controlled experiment from 200 participants, the study examines the Netherlands market consumer perceptions of companies with high levels of CSR certification from a developed country, the Netherlands, and a developing country, Indonesia. Results confirm a positive correlation between a high level of CSR certification and consumer acceptance in the Netherlands. The influence of the Netherlands as the product's origin positively moderates this relationship. Surprisingly, products from Indonesia also show a positive impact, contrary to expectations. The findings stress the strategic role of CSR certification for firms in the Netherlands market, irrespective of origin. However, caution is advised due to limitations, including potential bias and a small sample size. In conclusion, this research contributes nuanced insights for businesses navigating global markets, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of CSR's impact on consumer acceptance.

PROVOKING CREATIVITY IN BUSINESS: THE IMPACT OF PROMOTION AND PREVENTION PROBLEM-FRAMING ON CREATIVITY IN THE COVID-19 ERA

Imala Askania Faza — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Amidst the pivotal role of creativity in business survival, particularly accentuated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, this study puts importance on the managers' influence on guiding employee creativity. Grounded in regulatory focus theory, prior research traditionally favored promotion-focus over prevention-focus in shaping creativity. However, this study challenges this notion by investigating the impact of promotion and prevention problem-framing on creativity and hypothesizing whether previous findings remain robust even in the unprecedented changes brought about by the pandemic. Conducting an online survey with 218 British students, randomly assigned to promotion or prevention conditions, participants generated creative ideas linked to health improvement or maintenance. Unexpectedly, prevention problem-framing exhibited a slightly greater influence on creativity than promotion problem-framing, offering quite a novel perspective. While participants generally reported a relaxed attitude towards the pandemic, awareness of its inherent risks persisted. These findings highlighted the dynamic interplay between problem-framing and creativity, especially in unprecedented situations, emphasizing the need for managerial flexibility in leveraging these dynamics to enhance employee creativity.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE GLOBAL STAGE: A LEGITIMACY EXAMINATION IN EMERGING MARKETS

Nathaniel Antaresta Purwanto — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Prior research suggests that emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) increasingly adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a tool to gain legitimacy abroad. Although many scholars have investigated the relationship between CSR and Internationalization to be positive, a number of factors that influence the relationship have been continuously studied in recent years. To examine the CSR-Internationalization relationship in the context of EMNEs, it is necessary to take a different theoretical approach than for developed market multinationals. Building on stakeholder theory, this thesis investigates the effect of CSR on the Scope of Internationalization of EMNEs including the moderating effect of host market development level and state ownership. To address this research question, I performed a multiple linear regression analysis on a sample of 105 EMNEs. Based on this theoretical approach, I predict a positive relationship between CSR and Internationalization and a positive moderating effect of host market development level and state ownership on that relationship. The findings of this thesis conclude that CSR has a significant positive effect on the scope of internationalization, while the effect of host market development level and state ownership remains unclear and insignificant. It sheds light on the importance of considering non-economic factors in understanding the international expansion of firms from emerging markets.

DETERMINANTS OF IPO UNDERPRICING IN THE INDONESIAN MARKET

Dzaky Adzhary Dharmawan — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This thesis studied the determinants of IPO underpricing in Indonesia by examining 277 IPOs in Indonesia from 2016-2022. This study found that firm age has a significant negative relationship with the level of underpricing while Covid-19 pandemic has significant positive relationship. We argue that information asymmetry and uncertainty explains the underlying reason behind our findings.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY IMPLEMENTATION ON COUNTRY’S WEALTH IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 27 COUNTRIES? : AN EMPIRICAL STUDY WITH EUROSTAT DATA

Hauzaan Almayzhar — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Circular Economy is considered to be the most appropriate approach to achieve a sustained economy in a sustainable way. Although many scholars have investigated the impact of circular economy implementation on how it will contribute to a country’s economy the results are still vague. To examine the relationship of Circular Economy and its impact towards a country’s wealth I performed a multiple linear regression on 27 European Union countries and the findings revealed a significant correlation between circular economy adaptation and the contribution to wealth in the countries. The findings implicate how policy makers could adopt a circular economy and achieve a sustainable economy.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (27) TOWARDS THE CLIMATE CHANGE RATE? : A PREVALENCE ANALYSIS WITH EUROSTAT DATA

Varelino Setya Navyando — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Circular economy, a sustainable approach to resource management, is gaining attention amid escalating climate change concerns from the rise of greenhouse gas emissions. The problem lies in the true impact of using a circular economy in building climate resilience. In this study, I analyze Eurostat data from 27 European Union countries using multivariate regression statistics to unveil the relationship between circular economy practices and greenhouse gas emissions. Employing a robust methodological framework, my findings reveal a significant correlation between circular economy adoption and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These insights hold implications for policymakers, advocating for the integration of circular economy strategies to enhance climate resilience and shape effective climate policies for European Union policymakers.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF INSTITUTIONAL DISTANCE ON THE LEVEL OF CONTROL OF MULTINATIONALS IN THE INDONESIAN MEDIUM-HIGH AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

Rio Pramuditya — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Multinational corporations (MNCs) significantly contribute to globalizing research and development, particularly in emerging economies like Indonesia. As Indonesia aims to achieve the "Making Indonesia 4.0" vision, attracting foreign investment to bolster its medium-high and high technology industry becomes crucial. This study conducts an exploration within institutional theory concerning the influence of 'distance' measures on the level of control exerted by MNCs in a host country. Focusing on Indonesia's medium-high and high technology industry, the research investigates the relationships between formal and informal institutional distances and MNCs' strategic control decisions. Statistical analyses support the hypotheses, affirming the significance of both formal and informal institutional distance in shaping MNCs' inclination toward majority stake deals in the targeted industry. The findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of MNCs' strategic decision-making in an industry specific context. Which necessitates MNCs to balance managing partnerships to reduce strategic control in a formally distant host country, while at the same time maintaining a strong grip on technology-intensive activities to mitigate risks tied to reduce interdependence in an informally distant host country.

THE IMPACT OF CSR INCIDENTS ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INDITEX IN THE NETHERLANDS AND INDONESIA

Nashita Zaafira Ramadhani — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) incidents and customer loyalty, focusing on a comparative analysis of Inditex's operations in the Netherlands and Indonesia. Investigating the impact of CSR incidents on customer loyalty is crucial in understanding consumer behavior in diverse cultural contexts. Through a comprehensive examination of Inditex's CSR practices and incidents, this study aims to discern the varying degrees of influence on customer loyalty in these two distinct markets. This research considers the moderating effect of the customer country of residence between Indonesia and the Netherlands and the relationship between CSR incidents and customer loyalty is mediated by the trust in the company’s reputation. This research contributes to the broader understanding of the global implications of CSR strategies on customer relations, offering practical implications for businesses navigating diverse markets.

REPLACING ENDORSERS WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: INNOVATION IN THE ADVERTISING WORLD

Sadia Binte Azad Sristy, Noor Musanna — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

At one time, we thought that artificial intelligence was just fantasy. However, we did not imagine that this dream would become a reality in the 21st century and would have such an impact on our day-to-day lives. Nowadays, AI has made many difficult tasks in our daily lives easier, and work time has also decreased. Currently, Artificial Intelligence is being used in various sectors. But, after witnessing the capability, it is clear that AI will revolutionize the business world. Advertising is a significant part of the business sector. AI is expected to emerge as a game changer, especially in advertising. New entrepreneurs can market and advertise their products at relatively low cost. With AI, they can hire prominent endorser’s "personality" to advertise at a reasonable cost, which is currently out of imagination for new entrepreneurs. AI is going to emerge as a generational advancement for the business and advertising world around the globe. If advertisers develop an AI that can learn the personality of an individual and can ethically use the character to create ads or a live video, the expense of marketing will significantly decline. Statistical tools will be used to analyze the quantitative data, and thematic examination will be applied to dissect the qualitative data. Try to fill the gap and overcome the problem using primary and secondary data. Find the best ways to reduce the risk factors and expand economic growth.

PRIVATE EQUITY FUND SELECTION - A MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH

Christopher Rosenqvist — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The following aims to train a range of supervised machine learning models to predict the probability of a private equity (PE) fund exceeding a public market equivalent (PME) measure of 1 based on the information the PE investor would have at the time of fundraising. Past literature has studied a range of factors that appear to drive the performance of PE funds such as targeted fund size, management experience, fund specialization level, state of the industry, and the overall economy. The article investigates the predictive power of these factors. The models are based on a sample of 1,233 Buyout (BO) funds and 689 are Venture Capital (VC) funds sourced from Preqin. The results suggest some degree of predictability in VC funds with the top performing models reaching an out of sample accuracy score of 75% vs a base rate of 70%. For BO funds, the results are less promising with the top models only reaching an out of sample accuracy score of 60%, while failing to surpass the base rate of 61%. Overall, complex machine learning models, such as boosted decision tree-based algorithms and feedforward neural networks, fail to consistently outperform simpler models in both fund categories, which can be attributed to the limited sample size. Many macroeconomic and fund-specific in the variables analysis look to be valuable performance indicators for both the categories of funds. The impact is more profound and statistically significant for VC funds, especially in the case of macroeconomic factors.

UNDERSTANDING BANK DIVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS. AN APPROACH FROM VAR AND MONTE CARLO SIMULATION

Arturo García-Martínez, Antonio García-Amate — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The energy transition is one of the most relevant priorities in the context of the current production and consumption system. Finance, through Sustainable Finance, must start redirecting money flows towards projects with less impact on the environment. Through portfolio construction, this paper conducts an analysis based on Monte Carlo Simulation and Value at Risk. Based on a sample of 40 international banks, distributed by those that invest more in fossil fuels vs. those that invest less, the main objective of this work is to know the financial viability of the different portfolios considering their return and risk. The results show that the banks that are divesting more in fossil fuels have a lower return and a higher risk compared to those banks that continue to invest in fossil fuels. According to the Monte Carlo Simulation, there is also a better performance of those banks that continue to have a strong fossil fuels investment policy. According to these results, it seems that stronger restrictions should be imposed on fossil fuels investment in order for the major banks to become profitable by investing in projects with lower environmental impact. An in-depth analysis of the policy and legal implications of this performance is a line that can be addressed in the future.

DYNAMIC INTERRELATION BETWEEN STOCK MARKET INDEX, EXCHANGE RATE, T-BILLS AND POLICY RATE: THE CASE OF EGYPT 2010-2020

Yara El Kahky — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A robust securities market is the engine of a country's economy. Undoubtedly, the stability and strength of a country's financial intermediaries and secondary market systems determine its overall economic growth. Since 2009, when the secondary market and Egypt’s EGX 30 stock index were established, the Egyptian economy has been on a trajectory of growth. However, Egypt's economy has been facing various economic and financial challenges in recent years because of political instability and social unrest, starting with the 2011 political revolution and the global external shocks such as the Corona pandemic, which negatively impacted its foreign capital inflows from the hard currency. Which made it essential and critical to ask for financial assistance from international institutions and the global financial market to maintain the country's economic wellbeing. That was linked to economic structural reform-backed loan programs and agreements with the IMF and the World Bank. Since then, it is assumed that Egypt’s economy is moving towards more cointegration with the global economy, especially after the IMF-backed loan program and the economic reforms that took place since the end of 2016 with the currency flotation regime in November 2016. Since then, Egypt’s economic stance, stock market, and foreign exchange rate turned out to be more reflective and vulnerable to the external shocks that are taking place. And with the association of the IMF loan program, the financial capital market via foreign capital inflows in the foreign portfolio investments, has played a main role in influencing the currency performance through Egypt’s equity and debt markets, which are directly and indirectly influenced by Egypt’s Central Bank monetary policy decisions. This paper helps to understand the stock, foreign exchange markets in Egypt and the impact of the government’s monetary policy on the financial market. It aims at identifying the determinants of both markets, investigates the relationship between macroeconomic variables on Egypt’s EGX30 all-share stock index and Egypt’s FX rate. The macroeconomic interrelations are examined including Egypt’s lending interest rate and the 91-day Treasury bill (T-bill) rate. By applying the cointegration model and the VECM model to test the short-run and long-run relationships between the noted variables. The findings indicated a long-run relationship between Egypt's stock market index, lending rates, and T-bills over the period from 2010 until 2016, before the currency flotation regime.

COPYRIGHT ISSUE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS OF SMART PRODUCTION AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Gulde Alparslan — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence in the field of production and design has increased. As a result, in smart production and autonomous systems, the concepts of copyright and rights ownership on the works produced have become increasingly complex. In addition, there is no sufficient legal regulation regarding the rights of the software side of the system, the content providers and the commercial parties with whom they have agreements, in the productions made by autonomous systems through artificial intelligence software. In addition to the ownership of the work, the copyright of the elements in the content of the work and those who produce these elements also emerge as an important problem in productions made with artificial intelligence.

Purpose of Study: In this study, it is aimed to examine the copyright issue in artificial intelligence applications of smart production and autonomous systems.

Sources of Evidence: In the research, a literature review was conducted and semiotic analysis and content analysis were conducted based on academic studies. According to the results obtained, analyzes were made regarding the deficiencies in copyright and the main problems arising from field applications in smart production and autonomous systems made through artificial intelligence.

Main Argument: The main argument of the research is that copyright is an important problem in both the short and long term in smart production and autonomous systems produced through artificial intelligence.

Conclusions: Although DSM Directive 2019/790/EU, which was issued in 2016 and came into force in 2019, regulates digital copyrights, there are serious deficiencies regarding the ownership of the system or work and the legal regulations regarding smart productions and autonomous systems produced through artificial intelligence. While DSM Directive 2019/790/EU targets a uniform digital market, the copyright issue in artificial intelligence applications shows that this regulation is also inadequate. Regarding the AI Act, there is not yet sufficient regulation or implementation data regarding copyrights. The United States Copyright Office published in 2023 points out similar deficiencies in artificial intelligence and copyrights. Existing copyright regulations are insufficient today, especially for smart products produced by autonomous systems. One of the most important sources of the problem is that the work, its ownership, the types of work, and the commercial and moral values of the work are not fully defined. For a solution, comprehensive and advanced studies are needed regarding the copyrights of artificial intelligence.

INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP AND SUPERVISOR SATISFACTION ON TURNOVER INTENTION: THE MODERATING ROLE OF EMPLOYEE UPBRINGING

Hsiung, Ting En, Chong, Tong Ming, Tan, Zhi Lin, Chen, Po Hung — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Authoritarian leadership is prevalent in the Asian region, and previous research has found a positive correlation between authoritarian leadership and employees' intention to leave their jobs. However, there are employees in the workplace who can adapt to such supervisors. Therefore, we approach this study from the perspective of "fit theory" to explore whether employees with authoritarian family upbringing can match with authoritarian leadership. This study aims to investigate the impact of authoritarian leadership on employees' intention to leave, with supervisor satisfaction as the mediator and employees' authoritarian family upbringing as the moderator. A total of 232 valid questionnaires were collected in this study. The results revealed that the level of authoritarian family upbringing among employees has a moderating effect on the relationship between authoritarian leadership and supervisor satisfaction.

POLYGAMY IN FOCUS: A DISCOURSE ON SOCIETAL NORMS, RIGHTS, AND PRACTICAL CHALLENGES

Gintarė Sereikaitė Motiejūnė — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This article delves into the multifaceted perspectives on polygamy, specifically focusing on why a woman might opt to become a co-wife. The study, conducted in a private Facebook group for women who are part of or interested in polygamous relationships, unveils that societal norms, religious convictions, and individual situations greatly shape the views on polygamy. Despite certain muslim feminist groups advocating for the restriction of polygamy to specific scenarios, both men and women have their unique interpretations and applications of the principle, often extending beyond the confines of the Qur'anic context. However, these theories don't fully encompass the practical responsibilities and potential hurdles tied to polygamy. The study also exposed that polygamy, commonly perceived from a male-centric viewpoint, could also be interpreted as a woman's right, particularly when she is the instigator of the marriage. In summary, the research provides both theoretical insights and pragmatic implications, allowing us to perceive polygamy not just as a male prerogative but also as a potential social support structure for women.

ASYMMETRIC CARRIERS: SHIPPING TO HETEROGENEOUS CUSTOMERS UNDER PERSONALIZED PRICING

Xie Faqi — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Problem definition: We study two asymmetric information carriers that adopt personalized pricing to provide transportation services to end-market consumers. Consumers are heterogeneous in their sensitivity to the quality of the product arriving at their destination.
Academic/practical relevance: Consumer dissatisfaction with personalized pricing and product quality may cause them to turn to competitors to satisfy their needs. Competition among carriers and information sharing strategies have the potential to transform carriers’ decisions and thus retain consumers.
Methodology: We develop a two-period game model to capture carriers’ freight rates (personalized and non-personalized pricing) and information sharing decisions.
Results: We find that market competition and quality-sensitivity information sharing do not affect the incumbent carrier’s personalized pricing but moderate the extent of it by the entrant carrier. In equilibrium, the high-type incumbent carrier can benefit from information sharing, but the high-type entrant carrier may suffer. We also find that a more competitive market may increase the incumbent carrier’s total profit and may decrease the total profit of the entrant carrier.
Managerial implications: Our research provides guidance on carriers’ personalized pricing and whether a new entrant should strive to become the market leader. At the same time, our research also provides guidance on whether the informed carrier should share its strategic information.

THE IMPACT OF RISK MANAGEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Hamad Saleh Mofleh Alshehhi — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study delves into the integral role of risk management in optimizing the efficiency of construction project implementation by identifying and categorizing potential risks while emphasizing proactive risk management strategies. The research underscores the vulnerability of construction projects to diverse risks and highlights the prevailing issue of insufficient emphasis on risk management practices in the field. Notably, the findings indicate a substantial correlation between early risk identification and heightened project efficiency, showcasing that project employing proactive strategies experience fewer disruptions and greater adaptability to unforeseen challenges. Furthermore, construction projects implementing robust risk management practices demonstrate noteworthy reductions in delays and cost overruns, contributing to streamlined timelines and adherence to budget constraints. The study recommends prioritizing the adoption of proactive risk management practices, focusing on early identification and mitigation, and advocates for investment in training programs to enhance stakeholders' risk management knowledge and skills. Additionally, it suggests leveraging technological solutions, such as predictive analytics and simulation models, for more accurate and dynamic risk assessments, facilitating informed decision-making in construction project management.

The comparative analysis of risk management approaches empowers informed and appropriate decision-making. This reduces the disruption of and enhances financial outcomes. These findings signify a paradigm shift in project management in construction, advocating for a culture of effective and proactive risk management. It can revolutionize industry practices, increase predictability, and elevate the project's success. Implementing recommended strategies, inculcating adaptability cultivation, clear communication, and theoretical framework, and embracing complexity promises to enhance risk management effectively, guiding the instruction industry toward continuous improvement and innovation.

THE IMPACT OF RISK MANAGEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Hamad Saleh Mofleh Alshehhi — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research navigates the intricate landscape of the risk management in the construction industry. This paper also illuminates its profound influence on the success of the project. Diverse risk mitigation strategies have been investigated based on the impact of the same in the critical project metrics, such as adherence schedule, quality benchmark, and control of the cist; all this combined forms the foundation of this research. The objective of this research revolves around evaluating the correlation of the project's outcomes with the identification of risk. This quantifies the mitigation strategies' measurable impacts and compares their effectiveness in the stakeholders' satisfaction and the budget's control. With the empirical insights, this study aims to address the critical gap in understanding the direct link of risk management with the project's success. It equips the industry professional with evidence-based approaches to optimize risk practices, fostering resource allocation and resilience.

BUSINESS STRATEGY, ACCOUNTING CONSERVATISM, TAX AGGRESSIVENESS

Chen Yin Kuo — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Different from literature studying the bi-variable relation between business strategy and accounting conservatism as well as tax aggressiveness, this research provides original ideas exploring the relation among business strategy and accounting conservatism through tax aggressiveness. Using the Taiwan data including high-technology and traditional industries, our results indicate that first, prospector companies are more tax aggressive, and are more accounting conservative than defender ones. Secondly, the positive effect of business strategy on accounting conservatism holds through increasing tax aggressiveness (reducing tax payment), implying prospector companies with more tax aggressiveness are more accounting conservatism than defender ones with less tax aggressiveness. Thirdly, the positive effect of strategy on conservatism through increasing tax aggressiveness in high-tech firms is stronger than that in traditional ones. This implies that compared to traditional firms, high-technology firms can more strengthen this positive effect through tax aggressiveness. Fourthly, this paper highlights the role of tax aggressiveness in driving association between business strategy and conservative accounting. Finally, our results are analogous to Higgins et al. (2015) and Hsieh et al. (2019)’s findings of U.S. sample companies, implying that some characteristics of Taiwan companies (e.g., access to capital market, tax deductibility of investment in R&D) appear to be similar to particularities of U.S. firms. This paper provides the evidence on a developing country (Taiwan) for investors and portfolio managers.

WORK LIFE BALANCE AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN FINANCIAL WELL-BEING AND TURNOVER INTENTION: MODERATED BY WORK SECTOR OF EMPLOYEES IN CENTRAL LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Juris C. Ponio — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The mediating role of work life balance on the relationship between financial well-being and turnover intention was investigated in this study. Moreover, the possible moderation of work sector was explored. The respondents include the millennial workforce from private and public organizations in Central Luzon, Philippines. The research utilized quantitative approach to assess the relationships between the variables. To quantify the responses, adopted instrument was used and distributed to respondents. The respondents were chosen using purposive sampling design. Data gathered were treated using Partial least square – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) through WarpPls 8.0 software. The findings revealed that significant effects were observed on the following: financial well-being on work life balance; work life balance on turnover intention; and financial well-being on turnover intention. Moreover, work life balance was found to partially mediate between financial well-being and turnover intention. However, the moderating effect of work sector on the relationships of the variables was found to be not statistically significant. Given the finding of the study, conclusions were drawn and recommendations were provided to address the issues.

DATA-DRIVEN CAPACITY MANAGEMENT AND REVENUE MAXIMIZATION OF RIDE-HAILING SERVICE WITH PRESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS AND DEEP LEARNING

Jin Kun — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper studies capacity management of ride-hailing service with unstable passenger demand. In existing parametric approaches in the literature, normally a two-stage prediction-then-optimization (PTO) paradigm is used to implement demand prediction, capacity and revenue optimization sequentially, which generally achieves suboptimal performance due to the information loss in demand prediction. To attain optimality, in this study, we integrate these two stages into a prediction & optimization (P&O) paradigm considering both Cobb-Douglas matching function and perfect matching function, and formulate a weighted sample average approximation (WSAA) approach embedded with k-nearest neighbors, kernel regression and decision tree, as well as an innovative deep learning approach that couples decomposition, convolution, and attention together. The WSAA approach was proven to be asymptotically optimal when a sufficient number of samples are collected, while the deep learning approach based on P&O paradigm demonstrated superior performance in capacity management. Finally, as an extension, we combine WSAA and deep learning approaches to potentially achieve further improvement on optimality.

CONSTRUCT GUARD

Priyanka R — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Construction sites still have safety issues, which has led to the creation of cutting-edge. The Proposed Solution is Smart wearable bands and helmets equipped with a variety of sensors for tracking employee health and safety. The technology, which is supported by a connected wearable belt, continuously tracks worker location and health parameters. An advanced accelerometer detects workers' standing positions, triggering instant notifications to contractors in the event of dizziness. A Spo2 sensor enhances total health surveillance by monitoring oxygen and pulse rates in addition to the foregoing. This proposed system transcends traditional safety protocols, presenting a dynamic and proactive approach to worker well-being. By leveraging advanced sensor technologies and location-based intelligence, our smart wearables provide real-time health insights and prompt alerts during health compromises or accidents.

THE NATIONALITY OF THE ARBITRAL SENTENCE IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

Dr. Șerban-Alexandru Stănescu, Drd. Ana-Maria Dimofte — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the case of international disputes resolved by means of arbitration, the cross-border effects of the awards are essential for the parties. At first glance, these awards are assimilated to the national court judgements of the state where they were pronounced and are considered foreign court judgements in any other state. Nevertheless, in some cases, the links between the arbitral procedures and the place of pronouncement of the awards are weak or even non-existent, which raises serios doubts over the ability of this specific place to determine the nationality of the arbitral award.

The described circumstance is the premise of the present scientific approach, which aims to deepen the analysis of the criteria for determining the nationality of an arbitral award (by a Romanian court), with implications on its cross-border effects, as well as on the procedures that could lead to its dissolution.

From a methodological point of view, the research aims, successively, to inventory the applicable legal instruments, to delineate the solutions offered by them, in order to, finally, by overlapping them, provide a comprehensive theory on the determination of the nationality of an arbitral award.

HARMONIZING ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION: DECOUPLING POLLUTION FROM PROSPERITY

Zihang Huang 1 — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Environmental pollution and climate change effects being experienced by present global populations can be attributed to economic growth. With the increase in industrialization, the generation of waste without proper treatment and disposal has resulted in polluted air that risks the health of the population. It has also resulted in increased global earth temperatures, which have in turn affected the agricultural productivity of the earth, a primary source of livelihood for human populations. Despite these great consequences, there can be a harmonious existence of economic growth and reduced environmental pollution through decoupling. Government efforts are critical in the implementation of decoupling efforts, with their commitments expressed through policies and legislation.

TOURISM AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: IDENTIFICATION OF DETERMINING FACTORS

Pablo Juan Cárdenas-García — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Currently, a significant number of countries are betting on tourism as an economic activity on which to base their economic development, given that most international organizations recognize that tourism can become a tool for economic development, especially in less developed countries. However, on the part of the scientific literature there is no defined current on the capacity of tourism to become an instrument with which to improve the living conditions of the population residing in receiving countries. In this sense, in the scientific literature there are numerous investigations that have dealt with analysing the relationship between tourism and economic growth, a large part of these works coinciding that there is a causal relationship between both variables, but the same does not happen when the relationship between tourism and economic development. Among works that have analysed this relationship, there is no uniform current on the relationships that exist between tourism and economic development, being different the variables that have been used in these works to measure tourism and economic development, and being applied in different areas of analysis. Indeed, since the appearance of the first works that have analysed the relationship between tourism and economic development, approximately ten years ago, a large number of investigations have emerged on this relationship, for which it is interesting to carry out an evaluation of the main models econometrics that have been used, as well as the main empirical findings that have been reached in this work. In this context, this work highlights a comprehensive review of a large number of peer-reviewed articles that analyse the relationship between tourism and economic development, providing a general description of the theoretical framework that supports the relationship between these two variables, as well as the main results that have been obtained in these works, which will allow establishing the position of the scientific literature regarding the capacity of tourism as an instrument of economic development. This work, therefore, contributes to the scientific literature by answering the question: what is the relationship between tourism and economic development?

HOW NON-CURRICULAR ARTS ARE USED TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIAL STATUS OF ENGINEERS

Mohammed Algarni — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The paper discusses the concept of using non-curricular arts to strengthen the social status of engineers by expanding skillset and perception, building bridges, and connections. While there's no definitive answer of how non-curricular arts are used to strengthen the social status of engineers, the study presents some artistic ways of engagement that can impact engineers' social standing by demonstrating creativity and innovation, communication and storytelling, collaboration, and empathy. The study shows that the impact of non-curricular arts on engineers' social status depends on individual engagement, societal context, and how the artistic pursuit is perceived. While not a guaranteed formula, actively engaging in diverse artistic mediums can certainly contribute to a more well-rounded, respected, and connected image of engineers within society. Finally, the paper presents a comprehensive overview of how non-curricular arts can potentially influence the social status of engineers

THE USE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS AS A TOOL AFFECTING THE SECURITY AND STABILITY OF SOCIETY

Jozef Surkovsky — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Socio-economic aspects are nowadays one of the most important factors for the safety and stability of society. According to them, the possibility of the emergence of pathogenic anomalies threatening the stability of society can be predicted. Based on this fact, it is possible to implement preliminary measures to prevent the occurrence of extraordinary events well in time´s advance. The given theory can be demonstrated on the models of E.W. Burgess concentric zonal structure of the city and on Harris & Ullman multi-core model of the city. Thanks to knowledge from sociology and safety engineering we can to present, how the security and stability of society in a given location can be moved to a higher level, if we know very wel socio-economic aspects of society.

WOMEN AND NATURE: ECOPSYCOCHOLOGICAL FILM READING

Rym Derdous — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Nature-based studies yielded significant results concerning the psychological benefits of nature exposure. As such, ecopsychology is concerned with the relation human beings have with the surrounding environment. Using a multimodal approach comprising textual film analysis and ecopsychology, this work examines natural elements in the films Papicha (2019) and Clair Obscur (2016) and the psychological effects ensuing a nature experience. Papicha (2019) directed by Mounia Meddour tells the story of Nejdma who struggles to achieve her dream as a fashion designer in a demanding society. Likewise, Chenaz and Elmas in Clair Obscur (2016) defy society in their way to regain their independent autonomous selves. Although from two different cinematic traditions, the former Algerian and the latter Turkish, the films provide an audio-visual experience that traces the main characters’ state of mind before and post nature exposure and their journeys towards self-discovery and empowerment. The emphasis on solely female protagonists, in addition to nature, promotes feminist ecopsychological thinking. It provides an opportunity to explore feminist perspectives by highlighting the connection between women and nature portrayed through these female protagonists' experiences.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FLUCTUATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION OVER TIME: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

Mona Alzahrani — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In SLA, the variation of motivation when learning a language is a significant research area (Kikuchi, 2015). It has been established that motivation fluctuates, and that high and low levels of motivation alternate during language learning cycles (Albalawi & Al-Hoorie, 2021; Kikuchi, 2015, 2019). This research aims to comprehend and investigate the complexity of motivation fluctuation across language learning experiences which involves demotivation and remotivation. It focuses on the language learning motivation fluctuations of female students who studied general English in Saudi Arabia for more than six years at the school level up until their first year of university at the age of nineteen. It considers the dynamic and changing nature of motivation and its context-specific nature. It explores motivation fluctuation with broad perspective considering typical and atypical, academic, and non-academic as well as internal and external factors that lead to language learners’ demotivation in English language learning and the demotivation process. It also explores how language learners get remotivated after experiencing demotivation in language learning, including factors, opportunities, and challenges. To help understand this transient nature and process, this research adopts a qualitive design and will utilize thick data captured through narrative inquiry. It aims to capture language learners’ motivation fluctuation, their loss of that motivation, as well as their regaining of it. The term "language learner" describes a person who is consciously involved in the process of acquiring, developing, or improving their skill in one or more languages that can be considered foreign or second languages and may take place in formal settings like universities and institutions or through independent study utilizing alternative resources (Littlewood, 1984).

BASIC ANXIETY IN JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND EMMA

Hana Djelloul — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines Jane Austen’s representation of the heroines of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, using Karen Horney’s psychosocial theory of basic anxiety that emphasizes the role of childhood experiences and the impact of socialization on an individual’s psychological development. Firstly, the examination shows certain episodes in the heroines’ early experiences that shape their adult identity and self-knowledge. The analysis reveals that those heroines are highly affected by their parents or chaperones, who themselves may suffer from neurotic problems that impede their ability to properly provide care and support for their children. Moreover, this research delves into how social norms and expectations affect the heroines’ self-image and worldview.

WHY STAY? SAUDI WOMEN’S ADAPTIONS TO VIOLENCE

Seham Alazab — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The study investigates the reasons why women continue to live with an abusive husband and examines the relationship between their reasons and a number of variables that support one’s ability to cope with spousal violence. These variables include employment status, educational level, number of children, marriage duration, the social status of the wife's family and the number of violent incidents. A demographic survey and a spousal violence adaption scale were administered to a sample of 114 abused wives. The results revealed that all of the variables and several of the dimensions represented by the violence adaption scale affected the women’s decisions. The impact of these variables was more obvious among nonworking wives and the lesser educated, women with a greater number of children, those who had been married longer, those who senatal families had a low social status, and those who were subjected to violence more frequently. Keywords: adaptation to violence, marital violence, Saudi Arabia, spousal violence, violence against women in Saudi Arabia, why women stay in violent relationships.

RESEARCH ON AESTHETIC COGNITION, FLOW EXPERIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE IN VIRTUAL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Hui-Yun Yen — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research explores the integration of aesthetic experience and technology acceptance in virtual cultural activities. Aimed at enhancing user engagement, the study utilizes a structured questionnaire to evaluate participants' aesthetic cognition, flow experiences, and technology acceptance. Methods include data collection from virtual cultural activities and subsequent analytical comparisons. Results indicate a preference for immersive and user-friendly technological interfaces, highlighting the significance of aesthetic cognition in cultural activities' success. The study suggests that improving interactive features could significantly enhance participation in virtual cultural settings.

IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF TESTING LABORATORY EMPLOYEES OF XYZ CENTER BASED ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH MENTAL WORKLOAD

Fina Za'imah — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Balai XYZ is one of the government agencies engaged in services, one of which is material testing. Based on performance value data, about 30% of technicians have less good value. The suspected factor is the pressure in work so that the mental workload increases. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the mental workload using Subjective Workload Dominance method. The measurement results show that many technicians have a heavy mental workload, especially on D and F. In addition, there is a significant negative relationship between workload and performance value. Proposed performance improvements include SOP improvements for D and F assignments, rejuvenation of test kits and assistive devices, as well as improvements to machine tool work instructions.

ASSESSING COMPARABILITY IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS: A MULTI-LEVEL ANALYSIS IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY OF A DEVELOPING ECONOMY

Hania Rehman — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose - The usefulness of sustainability reports in meeting the information needs of stakeholders is questionable due to information asymmetry resulting from the proliferation of sustainability reporting frameworks. Despite this, arguments have surfaced that intra-industry firms, due to shared characteristics, might achieve a semblance of comparability. This study endeavors to analyse the comparability of sustainability information of organisations in the oil and gas industry of a developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach - To achieve the study purpose, a content analysis of sustainability information was performed by identifying the framework, structure, and content used to disclose sustainability information, using GRI reporting standards as a reference for comparability.

Findings - The analysis revealed that at a framework level, most organisations do not use any international sustainability reporting frameworks, opting for discretion. Regarding structural aspects, sustainability information lacks comparability owing to disparate sections. At a content level, the economic indicators have the highest compliance than social and environmental indicators, highlighting inconsistent reporting to different groups of stakeholders.

Originality – The novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive exploration of comparability of sustainability reports across multiple levels with specific emphasis on the environmentally sensitive oil and gas industry within the framework of a developing economy.

THE COUNTRY NAME AND POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN

Huang Peitao — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Looking back at the history of regime changes in Afghanistan, Afghanistan's political reconstruction after political instability is often accompanied by renaming the country. This phenomenon reflects the close connection between political reconstruction and the name of the country. A hypothesis was proposed to explain this phenomenon: The renaming of the country is a microcosm of Afghanistan's political reconstruction process. By analyzing the composition of the country's name, we can generally understand the country's political reconstruction process. The analysis of the country's name helps to explain the results of the political reconstruction of Afghanistan in history and to make a reasonable prediction of the results of the ongoing political reconstruction. To test this hypothesis, this paper made a historical analysis of the period of the Afghan People's Democratic Party in power and the US-backed bourgeois-democratic political period. It reviewed the composition of the country's name and the goals and results of political reconstruction in these two historical periods. Finally, this paper, in light of the elements in the name of “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, envisioned the current Taliban-led political reconstruction in Afghanistan.

FROM REJECTION TO CONFRONTATION: A STUDY ON THE ONTOLOGICAL SECURITY PERSPECTIVE OF POLAND’S RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA

Ke Yan — Mon, 06 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the field of international security studies, attention to ontological security issues has become a focal point. Ontological security at the national level manifests as the dynamic harmony between “national super-ego” and “national Id”, representing a common product in the subject relations. Ontological security crisis is the result of the failure of “national ego” regulation. Positioned in the geopolitical periphery, Poland, over millennia, has developed a distinct “national super-ego” and a strong sense of identity. However, throughout its history, Poland has repeatedly faced ontological security challenges from Russia. For Poland, Russia has transformed from being the “other” to the “excluded”, ultimately becoming the “adversary” in Poland's ontological security. Since the “post-Cold War” era, Poland has endeavored to reshape its ontological security through internal and external measures. Ontological security provides a novel perspective for international relations research.

THE PERCEPTION AND THE ORIGINS OF THE U. S. SOUTH CHINA SEA POLICY DURING THE EVENTS HAPPENED IN THE REGION BEFORE THE COLDWAR

Liu Jinbo — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The South China Sea policy of the United States after World War II was formed by the United States’ perception of the three events in the South China Sea before the Cold War. After events such as France’s occupation of the nine small islands in the South China Sea, Japan’s occupation of the South China Sea, and the struggle against Japan during the Pacific War, the United States has continuously deepened its understanding of the South China Sea and increasingly valued its important value. With Japan's gradual retreat in the later stages of World War II, the United States gradually gained control of the South China Sea and took a dominant position in the South China Sea dispute. With the continuous deepening of the United States' understanding of the South China Sea and the changes in its identity, status, and interests in the South China Sea region, the U.S. South China Sea policy has gradually taken shape.

THE OBSTRUCTION OF SEA POWER, THE RECOVER OF LAND POWER AND THE POSSIBILITY OF “INTERCONNECT POWER”

Pan Xianming — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Maritime versus land transportation, or the race between sea power and land power, is a topic that political scientists have been passionately discussing for centuries. In recent decades, sea power has undoubtedly prevailed. However, With the changes in the international political and economic situation and the frequent occurrence of wars and accidents (for example, the conflict in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the backlog of goods in ports due to the epidemic), maritime transportation has been restricted at the present time. Coupled with the development and application of new technologies (examples include distributed photovoltaics, high-speed rail, ultra-high-voltage transmission technology and thorium-based nuclear power plants) and the rise of new economies, the rise of land power has become a new trend. In other words, “circulating power”, which combines sea power and land power, provides a new development perspective for human society. The interconnectedness of the world will beyond the “national center” perspective, bring about the well-being of mankind, and convert the struggle for power into economic cooperation and prosperity.

THE DECAY OF THE RUSSIA-EU ENERGY DIALOGUE MECHANISM FROM A ROLE PERSPECTIVE

Shu Weichao — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The energy issue is at the core of the interaction between Russia and Europe. This paper, based on the perspective of role theory, systematically reviews the evolution of the Russia-Europe energy dialogue mechanism in the post-Cold War era. It combines role positioning and role expectations as two core variables to analyze the influencing factors of the Russia-Europe energy dialogue mechanism. Therefore, six influencing factors are summarized, including political culture, energy strategy, and energy groups related to role positioning, as well as historical traditions, international crises, and energy revolutions related to role expectations. The paper argues that the evolution of the Russia-Europe energy dialogue mechanism exhibits three characteristics: firstly, consistency with Russia-Europe relations; secondly, idealism in role expectations formed due to political cultural differences; and thirdly, the constraining nature of the asymmetrical structure on energy cooperation. Consequently, the Russia-Europe energy dialogue mechanism is in a state of stagnation, and Russia-Europe energy cooperation is showing a fragmented trend.

MEDIATING THE GREEK-TURKISH CONFLICT: THE EFFICACY, CHALLENGES, AND INNOVATIVE PATHWAYS OF NATO'S INTERNAL MECHANISMS

Sun Jie — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The ongoing conflict between Greece and Turkey poses significant challenges to regional stability, highlighting the critical role of NATO in mediating such disputes. This paper examines the efficacy of NATO's internal mechanisms in mediating the Greek-Turkish conflict, identifies the key challenges these mechanisms face, and explores innovative pathways for resolution. Employing a mixed-methods approach that includes a literature review, case studies, and comparative analysis, we uncover the strengths and limitations of NATO's current conflict resolution strategies. Our findings reveal that while NATO's mechanisms have facilitated dialogue, political divergences among member states and external geopolitical pressures have often hindered effective mediation. The paper proposes innovative solutions, including enhancing preemptive conflict management tools, establishing more inclusive dialogue platforms, and incorporating technology in mediation processes. These suggestions aim to bolster NATO's role in the Greek-Turkish context and future international conflicts, contributing to a more stable and peaceful international order.

CHINA-ARAB ENERGY COOPERATION: CONSTRUCT NEW ENERGY SILK ROAD

Zhang Yisen — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Arab countries are one of the most important energy supply bases in the world and a key area for China's ‘Belt and Road’" initiative(BRI). China and Arab countries have long been committed to enhancing energy cooperation. While the global energy transition is the background of China-Arab energy cooperation, the international situation in the region is still in flux, but there is a good political foundation for China-Arab energy cooperation. These are the basic conditions for China-Arab energy cooperation. Against the backdrop of energy transition and continuous changes in the international situation, China and Arab countries are working together to promote energy cooperation in terms of policy design, mechanism improvement, industry chain layout, human resource support and project implementation, combining the BRI and ‘a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind’, and the ‘China-Arab Community with a Shared Future’ in order to promote the building of a China-Arab community of energy cooperation. China-Arab cooperation in the oil and gas sector continues at a high level, while new energy sources are becoming the highlight of China-Arab energy cooperation, which is the ‘new’. In addition, despite frequent changes in the international situation, China and Arab countries have insisted on promoting a community-based approach to cooperation, which is a ‘new’ way of cooperation compared to the energy strategies of Western countries.

DRIVERS & OUTCOMES OF HUMAN CAPITAL ANALYTICS

Misbah Faiz — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The current article analyzes human capital analytics and develops a model for the drivers and outcomes of human capital analytics. A total of 81 articles have been analyzed using content analysis and a model has been developed using systematic literature review. The model identifies four drivers and seven outcomes of human capital analytics. The drivers include organizational culture, employee hard & soft skills, employee competencies and skilled workforce. The outcomes include stronger inter-departmental relationships, improved employee experience and behaviour, knowledge-based decisions, improved company performance, provision of competitive edge, risk reduction and enhancement of strategic organizational capability. We see that human capital analytics is an emerging phenomenon and yet much literature does not exist on the phenomenon. Considering minimal exploration of HR data analytics and its hidden role in the company's performance, the area has been less approached. Our review addresses the mentioned shortcoming and provides a roadmap for the future research.

ANALYSIS OF SETAGAYA WARD'S SYSTEM OF DEVELOPING VACANT HOUSES INTO BASES THAT ARE USEFUL TO THE COMMUNITY

Shota Yamada — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Setagaya Ward established a consultation service in July 2013 to develop vacant houses into useful bases for the community. This service matches owners of vacant houses with non-profit organizations and produced 22 bases in 10 years. Through analysis of the bases, it became clear that the majority of the bases were using vacant rooms rather than the entire house. Many bases that contribute to social welfare, such as child and disability welfare, have been created. This service can deal with cases that are difficult for private real estate companies to handle. It shows the significance for local governments to operate vacant house utilization systems.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON RURAL HOUSEHOLD WELFARE IN MALAWI

Natasha Mtika — Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Does cooperative membership promote household welfare? What are the determinants of social capital? What are the negative factors arising from social capital? By following a case study approach of two agricultural cooperatives in Malawi, the study focused specifically on rural household welfare to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which social capital impacts rural communities in Malawi. The empirical evidence gathered was directed to uncover social capital both as a determinant factor of household welfare as well as a household socio-demographic factor to capture both its exogeneity and its endogeneity. This research narrows the research gap in Malawi, since until this research, there remained a significant gap in the literature regarding the examination of the relationship between social capital and rural household welfare. This research, therefore, focuses specifically on the relationship between rural household income and social capital by using t-tests, also traditional regression analysis to determine the determinants of social capital. Results indicate that cooperative membership improves household welfare as revealed by the striking disparities in income levels and variability between cooperative members and non-cooperative members. This is attributed to the substantial economic benefits of cooperative membership such as reduced transactional costs and improved market and information access which are available to cooperative members as opposed to non-members, underscoring the role of social capital embedded in groups and cooperatives in contributing to the socio-economic development and poverty alleviation of rural households. Institutional trust, gender, and education emerged as key predictors of social capital underscoring the crucial roles of trust, gender dynamics, and education levels within social networks. This highlights the need for policy interventions that promote education, address gender disparities, and build people’s trust in local, district, and national institutions to enhance social capital among people in rural areas. Financial barriers, power imbalances, and leadership accountability were found to limit the inclusivity and accessibility of the networks by those who are outside as well as contribute to a lack of trust and reduced participation among members, especially those who feel marginalized or excluded.

A STUDY OF DUTCH SIEGE TACTICS AND FORTIFICATION DESIGNS IN ASIA DURING THE 17TH CENTURY

Yu-Ting Lin — Tue, 21 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the design concepts of Dutch siege fortifications and the VOC's siege practices in Asia in the 17th century. In terms of "the design concepts of Dutch siege fortifications," mainly based on the theoretical work OF BESIEGING TOWNS AND FORTRESSES (Vant Belegherin Der Steden en Sterckten), written by Simon Stevin (1548-1620), a Dutch military engineer. Stevin had served in the Dutch army as a military advisor to Prince Maurice of Nassau (1585-1625), co-planning a number of sieges. Moreover, he was designated to found the engineering school at Leiden University. Thus, Stevin's works reflect the tactics and design concepts of sieges in the 16th-17th centuries. Regarding "the VOC's siege practices in Asia," mainly derived from the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, abbreviated as the VOC) in 1602. Its purposes were not only to gather wealth but also to attack the power of Spain and Portugal. The government empowered the VOC with the rights to recruit troops, purchase quality guns and cannons, and even represent the country to declare war or make peace with the flags of red, white, and blue. As a result, the globe-wide expansion of the VOC led to several sieges in Asia, as well as cross-cultural military exchanges between Europe and Asia.

REVENUE GUARANTEES IN PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Uğur Emek — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Historically, governments have been responsible for financing, construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects in such sectors as energy, transport, education and health. During last decades, public finance has been inadequate to deliver infrastructure services in terms of construction and renovation. For this reason, the private sector has played an important role to finance greenfield (new) and brownfield (existing) projects in the form of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Infrastructure investment includes certain risks such as financing, construction, operation and demand. The private sector can control first three risks better than demand risk. The estimation of future demand risk is uneasy in countries with volatile GDP, inflation, currency or users’ willingness to pay tolls. Further, depending on optimism bias or misrepresentation, planners may overestimate the future demand. Since transport traffics have been lower than projected tolls, the private sector may become reluctant to undertake the toll revenue risk and willing to transfer this risk to the government. Minimum revenue guarantees (MRG) is one method to transfer revenue risk to the government among others. Turkish Government has preferred the MRG in the transport projects. Under MNR scheme, the government reimburses the private partner when actual toll falls short of the projected revenue over operating period. On the other hand, motorway PPP projects are divided to several parts by the Turkish Government. Once the private partner completes one part earlier in the construction period, the Turkish government takes that part into operation and MNR commences for this part. Thus, the private partner acquires extra MNR during the construction period in addition to the operating term. Consequently, front loaded MNR is used as cross-subsidy to finance other parts’ construction cost of the related project.

SOME FINDINGS ON THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF GENERATION Z YOUTH IN TÜRKIYE

Ender Akyol, Fatih Erarslan — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In recent years, there has been an intense interest in generational studies in many different disciplines of social sciences. Especially the political participation behaviours and voter tendencies of individuals called Generation Z attract the attention of political decision makers as well as academicians. In Türkiye, on the other hand, it is noteworthy that the studies establishing a relationship between the voter tendencies of generations and their political participation preferences and levels are limited and the studies are generally conducted at the regional or educational level on the basis of province, region or school. Based on the assumption that there is a need for a descriptive and explanatory study on the general political participation tendencies of Generation Z in Turkey, this study was designed. In the research, a scale was created to analyse the political participation tendencies of Generation Z youth in Türkiye. Citizens living in Türkiye were considered as the population and the sample to represent the population was determined. Since the variable in question will be measured at the community level, the sample should be distributed at the NUTS II level. Considering the voter turnout rates for a representative sample, the minimum sample size was determined as 417 with a sensitivity of +/- 3 at 95% confidence interval. Considering the possible missing observations, the scale was applied to a total of 500 people. 26 provinces and 31 districts in Level 2 of the "Classification of Statistical Regional Units of Türkiye" were determined as the sample. The data obtained were analysed by using SPSS (Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences) and the general voter tendencies of Generation Z were analysed by reliability analysis, frequency analysis, chi-square analysis and difference tests. In the analyses, it was primarily concluded that 85.8% of the participants were not members of any political party and 67.4% of them did not believe in solving problems through politics. It has been determined that 41.6% of the participants consider themselves as sympathising voters and 34.2% of them consider the party leader important in voting for a political party. In addition, 66.2 per cent of the respondents stated that Turkey needs a new political party and 60.6 per cent stated that Türkiye should return to the parliamentary system.

THE EFFECT OF GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ON FIRM VALUE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS AS MODERATION VARIABLE

Jennifer Budiman, Yulius Jogi Christiawan, Natasya Angie Alfonso — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to examine the effect of good corporate governance on firm value. In addition, this study also examines the role of environmental costs in moderating the effect of good corporate governance on firm value. This research was conducted on go public companies included in the LQ45 index list from 2018 to 2022, with purposive sampling. The data was analyzed using panel data with the weighted least square method. Measurement of good corporate governance uses a score based on the corporate governance perception index, while firm value is measured by the Tobins'Q ratio. Meanwhile, the moderating variable of environmental costs is measured based on Corporate Social Responsibility costs. The results showed that good corporate governance negatively affects firm value. This study did not succeed in proving the moderation of environmental costs on the relationship between good corporate governance and firm value. This research is expected to be the basis for investors in making investment decisions through information about the effect of environmental costs on the relationship between good corporate governance and firm value.

INCENTIVIZING OPENNESS: THE INFLUENCE OF MANAGERIAL COMPENSATION ON VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE

Imen Gharbi — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper analyzes the relationship between voluntary disclosure and managerial compensation in the French context. Our analysis is based on a sample of non-financial French firms listed on the SBF120. By using a score of voluntary disclosure, the results show a significant and positive relationship between managerial compensation and the score of voluntary disclosure. The findings of this study also indicate that there is a relationship between voluntary disclosure and firm’s characteristics. Our results provide a better understanding of voluntary disclosure practices and draw more attention of regulatory authorities to the importance of managerial compensation to improve transparency and voluntary disclosure.

INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY AREAS IN SPORTS IN THE DIMENSION OF ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH

Assoc. Prof. Betül Akyol — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Sports technologies have been in continuous and uninterrupted 'change and development' from the day they first started to emerge until today. With each passing year, sports technologies are developing by taking reference from each other through new technologies. With the development of sports technologies, generations, encounter more 'new and advanced' technologies every day. Sports have an important place in protecting the physical and psychological health of individuals. In addition to physical health, mental health also has an important place in sports. In this respect, the aim of the current research is to examine different technology areas in sports in terms of mental health. For this purpose, as a data collection tool; DergiPark, Higher Education Institution National Thesis Center (YÖKTEZ) and Google Scholar were searched for Turkish sources and Web of Science and PubMed databases for English sources with the keywords "Sport Technology", "Sport Mental Health", "Sport Entertainment" and "Technology Addiction". As a result of the research; it is seen that technology in sports is used for different purposes such as 'entertainment, exercise and performance sports'. In some cases, the use of technology in more equipment or time than needed can create technology addiction in individuals and negatively affect their mental health. On the other hand, it is thought that conscious technology users can transform their existing sports/exercises into an efficient and fun way with sports technologies developed for different purposes. In this respect, it was concluded that, as with all new developing technologies, it is important to determine the needs well when using these technologies and to be a conscious user of sports technologies in terms of mental health.

UNCOVERING DIVERSIFICATION BENEFITS: RETURN SPILLOVERS IN USA ESG AND NON-ESG ORIENTED BANKS

Madiha Zafar, Muhammad Owais Qarni — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Financial products are interconnected through the balance sheet and affect the overall economic system by connectedness. Investors are interested in the connectedness of markets, so our study investigated spillover dynamics and their influence on ESG and non-ESG-oriented banks in the USA. Our dataset comprises 2319 observations from January 1, 2015, to November 22, 2023. We employed the spillover index of Diebold and Yilmaz (2012) to conduct an extensive analysis of ESG-oriented and non-ESG-oriented banks in the USA. The study uncovered significant differences in interconnectedness and spillover effects between ESG-oriented and non-ESG-oriented banks, particularly during regular periods and the COVID-19 pandemic. ESG-oriented banks, in particular, exhibit higher levels of interconnectedness, with notable spillovers among themselves, indicating a need for cross-market diversification to manage risk. In contrast, non-ESG-oriented banks demonstrate lower interconnectedness and spillover effects. The study highlights the potential benefits of portfolio diversification across ESG and non-ESG banks. The research concludes that such diversification can offer significant risk reduction benefits. Findings suggested that banks must incorporate ESG and non-ESG investments in their portfolio to mitigate overall risk. Banks’ adoption of ESG standards may lead to investing in fewer projects, leading to ESG constraints in portfolio optimization. In this way, ESG investment restricts and constrains the diversification of portfolios, which increases risk and contagion.

EFFECTIVENESS OF BRAND COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN ANIMATION AND FASHION INDUSTRY

Zayyan Rafishafa Kabullah Nugraha — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research discusses the impact of collaborations between fashion brands and animation studios amongst the customer. This phenomena has been intriguing for the researcher because recently in the last few years there have been countless collaborations between these brands. The brands have impacted the customers’ preferences and they purchase these collaboration items for many different reasons. The researcher started this research by mapping the background of these collaborations. After analyzing the background, the researcher started to find the topic or goal of this research which is finding the reasons behind why these collaborations are (most likely) to be successful. Following finding the focus on this research was a part of the beginning steps, the researcher started finding literature works related to my topic. Journals, academic articles, news articles and others that are related to fashion, brand collaboration, collaboration marketing, animation studios and so much more. These literatures helped me find the definition and information regarding aspects that are related to my research. After reading these literature works the researcher analyzed each of them and divided them into sections within my research. As the researcher has mentioned before, the researcher discussed the definition. Information, reasons, how it impacts other parts of the research or why they are related. After the literature review was finished the researcher continued to conduct a survey to receive first primary sourced data. The survey that was conducted consisted of questions related to the customers’ knowledge regarding anime, fashion brands, brand collaborations, their shopping preferences, their standard to shop a branded product and so much more. The survey received 151 respondents for my survey. From this survey the researcher received new information regarding my research and this definitely helped me in finding the reasons behind why customers or the market are interested in purchasing collaboration products between animation and fashion brands. The step after conducting the survey was analyzing the data that the researcher has collected. The researcher used descriptive and quantitative analysis from the graphs of the survey’s result. The researcher made a conclusion and analysis of each question’s answers. The answer with the highest amount in a question becomes the true answer or represents the majority of the population. After representing the survey’s data in the form of graphs and statistical analysis. The result of the survey and findings from the journal shows that there are various effects of brand collaborations towards the customers, whether they are from the animation series’ market or outside the market. There were also additional insights regarding people who are not interested in purchasing collaboration products, they gave their perspective about their reasonings on why they won’t be buying those items.

THE COMPLEXITY OF THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CITIZENS AND INSTITUTIONS: WHAT BALANCE IS POSSIBLE?

Antonella Eliana Sorrgente — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The speech will start with the difficulty of management and interpretation of the regulatory and organisational complexity of a health context (in particular a hospital) and will try to trace a possible mode of interaction between stakeholders and institutions based on the project work developed, with Doctor Franco Milani, for the Executive master's in strategic management and leadership of health Organizations attended at the University of Pavia during a.a. 2021-2022. The management of the relationship between regulatory and organisational complexity in the healthcare context and the relationship with the patient/citizen is deemed to require i) the implementation of new leadership styles, ii) the dissemination of Non-Technical Skills, iii) the implementation, structured and specific, of participatory processes, so that public action is implemented in a tailor-made way for the need of the community for which it was thought iv) a new mode of communication between stakeholders and institutions so that the ethics of the relationship and communication, transparency and accountability become the pivot of a new mode of interaction.

EXPLORING THE OBESITY PREVALENCE AMONG TAIWANESE ADULTS FROM 2017 TO 2020: A STUDY ON ECONOMIC INCOME AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Hung-Chi Chen, Hsiang-Tsai Chiang — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose
Existing research suggests that the prevalence of obesity varies by income and educational level, but patterns of income across different countries and regions may differ. Therefore, this study investigates the obesity prevalence among adults in Taiwan based on economic income and educational attainment, and identifies gender differences.

Methods
A total of 3481 adult males and 3510 adult females participated in the National Nutrition and Health Survey (years 2017-2020), providing data including height, weight, body fat percentage, education level, and income. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyse adjusted body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage based on income and education level, as well as the relationship between income, education, and overweight/obesity.

Results
In males, there was a significant interaction between income and weight standard (Trend, p <0.05) and obesity (Trend, p <0.05). Compared to the lowest income group, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals) for overweight and obesity were 1.45 (0.09, 2.12) and 1.25 (0.82 to 1.76) respectively, for the highest income group. However, in the fully adjusted model for females, the association between income and overweight/obesity was not significant, but there was an inverse trend between education level and obesity.

Discussion
Education level and income have a certain impact on the obesity prevalence among adults in Taiwan, with differences observed between genders in the prevalence of obesity.

EXPLORING THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF CHATGPT IN HIGHER EDUCATION FROM STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

Aleksander Aristovnik — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a pivotal moment in AI's role in higher education, sparking a mix of excitement and skepticism among educators and researchers. This advanced AI's ability to simulate human-like conversations and provide informative responses has led to its exploration for enhancing learning experiences across various disciplines, including public administration. However, this exploration is tempered by concerns over issues like AI bias, data privacy, and the implications of increased reliance on AI technologies in educational settings. Emphasis on the differences between these fields in terms of AI application and impact will be explored and analyzed.

The paper details the "Students' Perception of ChatGPT" survey conducted by the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Ljubljana and an international consortium, which garnered over 23,000 responses globally. The survey investigated ChatGPT's influence on students' learning experiences, academic performance, skill development (such as critical thinking and writing), emotional responses, and ethical perspectives on AI in education. Utilizing a detailed questionnaire format, the survey combined both quantitative and qualitative methods to capture diverse student interactions and perceptions of ChatGPT.

The findings are anticipated to shed light on ChatGPT's transformative role in education, examining its potential in areas like tutoring, collaborative learning, and language skill development. Additionally, the survey aims to explore students' motivations and engagement in learning processes influenced by ChatGPT, while also addressing the challenges and concerns related to its use, such as accuracy and potential misuse.

Finally, the paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about AI's role in education by providing a comprehensive view of global student perspectives on ChatGPT. The insights gained are expected to be instrumental for educators, policymakers, and AI developers in understanding and navigating the complex landscape of AI in higher education, thereby shaping future educational strategies and applications. The added focus on the differences among various academic fields will further enrich this understanding, offering a nuanced view of how ChatGPT's impact varies across disciplines.

ENHANCING FARMER GROUPS’ STRENGTH: HOW EFFECTIVE IS THAILAND’S PROJECT ON STRENGTHENING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION GROUPS?

Para Jansuwan — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In 2021, the Thai government implemented the project on strengthening agricultural production groups to enhance their operational strength through providing them with required supports. This study aimed to evaluate if the project contributes to improving the groups’ strength, the group members’ income and the application of knowledge gained in their households. Logic model was applied as this evaluation’s conceptual framework and a Propensity Score Matching method was applied to analyse the project’s impact. Data were collected from the project participants (265 people) and non-participants (241 people) through a survey in 12 provinces in four regions of Thailand. The results revealed that 53.50% and 28.12% of the group members reported that their group was the strongest and very strong, respectively. This is because most members (86.27%) provide assistance to each other and most (86.22%) cooperate in carrying out the groups’ activities. Participating group members who received land allocation from the Agricultural Land Reform Office earned an average of 28,482 baht more per year than non-participating members. Participating farmer housewife group members earned an average of 12,638 baht more per year than non-participating members. Participating farm youth was 24.19% more likely to apply the knowledge gained in their household than non-participating youth. In conclusion, the project was effective and should therefore be continuously extended its results. Its bottom-up approach should be applied to other projects with similar characteristics. In addition, budgets from various sources should be integrated to provide different farmer groups with more opportunities to participate in the future projects.

UNRAVELING THE AMBIGUITIES IN UNDERSTANDING OF CSR IN THE BUSINESS WORLD: A PROFESSIONAL ETHICS PERSPECTIVE

Kumar Neeraj Sachdev — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The arguments regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) typically revolve around two main perspectives. Thinkers of one perspective assert that Individuals or Organizations should engage in CSR primarily because it is their moral obligation to work for the wellbeing of fellow human beings and the environment because they have the resources to help the people and the government. Thinkers of opposing viewpoint argue that Individuals or Organizations may refrain from participating in CSR initiatives because the primary objective of any business entity is to make profit and pursuit of any other objective is considered to be a waste of resources at the cost of investors. Both these viewpoints appear to form a no-meeting-point web of opposing arguments possibly because the definition of CSR and the perception about CSR generate a lot many ambiguities. The definition of CSR informs about voluntary assumption of responsibilities that go beyond economic and legal responsibilities but the examples of CSR appear to be varied: one moment, it seems to mean the use of corporate resources to operate a program to address some social problem; the next, it is all about charitable donations, and sometime later, it seems to mean providing benefits to employees to improve their quality of life in the workplace. On the other hand, the perception of people about CSR appears to be two-fold: CSR is a moral endeavor and CSR is a business strategy. The people working in the business world and elsewhere perceive CSR as a moral endeavor to help the general lot of people and the environment, but that is also perceived to function simultaneously as a business strategy to promote the economic interests of the organization. We argue in the paper that there is a need to better understand the conflicting domains of definition of CSR and perception about CSR separately and in relation to each other because any ambiguity in the understanding of these two aspects of CSR potentially can pose dangers to the ethically correct practices of CSR in the business world and in the society.

CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF COFFEE

Chien-Chi Lin — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to investigate whether there are differences in preferences for different types of hand-drip and Italian-style coffees across genders and age groups. The findings indicate that gender plays a significant role in coffee preferences, suggesting that café operators should tailor their product promotion strategies based on whether their target demographic is predominantly male or female. Additionally, age-related differences in coffee preferences identified through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) underscore the importance of age-specific marketing strategies.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON TIKTOK

Ghazy Rayhan Largo — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Technological advancements have revolutionized the marketing strategies employed by companies, particularly in the realm of digital marketing. Digital marketing utilizes digital technologies and online platforms to achieve more effective and efficient customer outreach on a global scale. This study aims to investigate the impact of technological progress on the evolution of digital marketing. Employing case studies from previous research, this study leverages the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) framework to examine this relationship.

The findings indicate a significant correlation between technological advancements and the growth of digital marketing, influenced by various factors. Furthermore, the rise of social media platforms, such as TikTok, has notably reshaped the digital marketing landscape. TikTok's unique structure and vast user base offer companies new opportunities to engage with their audience, create viral content, and boost brand awareness. The study highlights the importance of TikTok's algorithm, user engagement, and creative elements in enhancing digital marketing effectiveness, establishing it as a crucial tool for modern marketers.

DRIVERS & OUTCOMES OF HUMAN CAPITAL ANALYTICS

Misbah Faiz — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The current article analyzes human capital analytics and develops a model for the drivers and outcomes of human capital analytics. A total of 81 articles have been analyzed using content analysis and a model has been developed for drivers and outcomes of human capital analytics. The model identifies four drivers and seven outcomes of human capital analytics. The drivers include organizational culture, employee hard & soft skills, employee competencies and skilled workforce. The outcomes include stronger inter-departmental relationships, improved employee experience and behavior, knowledge-based decisions, improved company performance, provision of competitive edge, risk reduction and enhancement of strategic organizational capability. We see that human capital analytics is an emerging phenomenon and yet much literature does not exist on the phenomenon. Considering minimal exploration of HR data analytics and its hidden role in the company's performance, the area has been less approached. Our review addresses the mentioned shortcomings and provides a roadmap for future research.

ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP DRIVEN ACTION SPIRIT

Palin Phoocharoon — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Designing a comprehensive theory of collective organizational engagement with entrepreneurship theory on the resource management model to achieve local development in impoverished places becomes an exciting challenge of the high potential organization. Proposing one intervention to address those concerns, which is the demand of high-growth entrepreneurship to shift the focus rather from economic growth by investing on the building infrastructure to investing on human and social capital. To achieve those challenging objectives, firms are not only focusing on economic growth but also fostering social inclusion, cultural diversity, and environmental sustainability across generations. Those strategic move and actions requires the exclusive pursuit support of new paradigm of entrepreneurship spirit.

A STUDY ON THE POTENTIAL OF CHINA’S EXPORT TRADE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TO THE TEN ASEAN COUNTRIES ---NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE PANEL CS-ARDL MODEL

Yantong He — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper constructs a Panel CS-ARDL model using annual data for China and 10 ASEAN countries during the period from 2002 to 2022 to study the long- and short-term trade potentials and impacts of China's exports of agricultural products to the 10 ASEAN countries, and measures the trade potential value of China's exports to the 10 ASEAN countries with reference to the existing literature. The study shows that the trade value of agricultural exports is significantly positively correlated with China's GDP, ASEAN's GDP, and ASEAN's population, while it is significantly negatively correlated with China's population, and the results are consistent in the short and long term. After measuring the trade potential value, it is found that China's agricultural export potential to the ten ASEAN countries is overall better, but it is characterized by uneven distribution and unbalanced development. Among them, the trade potential value of Indonesia fluctuates greatly, and the trade potential of Malaysia gradually reaches saturation.

FORECASTING EXPORTS IN ALBANIA

Brikena Sulejmani — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Time series forecasting plays a crucial role in various fields, including economics, finance, and weather prediction. This study explores the application of time series forecasting techniques to predict future values based on historical data patterns. Different models, such as ARIMA, SARIMA, and exponential smoothing, are commonly employed to capture the underlying trends, seasonality, and irregularities in time series data. The accuracy of the forecasts depends on selecting the appropriate model and fine-tuning its parameters. Regular validation and refinement of the forecasting models are essential to ensure their reliability and adaptability to changing conditions. Overall, time series forecasting serves as a valuable tool for decision-making, resource allocation, and planning in numerous domains. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was used in this research to predict Albanian exports. The ARIMA models provided reliable forecasts for the near future and placed more importance on recent observations rather than distant past data. However, a limitation of this study is the lack of using multiple models on new data to improve future forecasts. Considering the significance of exports in Albania, it is crucial to periodically validate and refine the model-building exercises. Based on the findings, the study recommends using the ARIMA (3,2,3) model for forecasting. Furthermore, the forecast errors were statistically tested and validated, confirming the model's strong predictive ability. It is important to note that a forecasting technique that performs well in one situation may not be suitable for another. Therefore, the validation of a specific model should be regularly assessed as time progresses. To forecast the annual exports of Albania, researchers can employ these models.

NAVIGATING GLOBAL INTEGRATION: THE IMPACT OF TRADE POLICY ON EMERGING MARKETS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND AFRICA

Richard Grover Baah — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores the impact of trade policy on global economic integration, with a focus on emerging markets in Africa and the Global South. Through a detailed examination of the manufacturing, agriculture, and technology sectors, the study reveals the sector-specific effects of trade policies, highlighting the need for tailored approaches that align with broader development goals. The research underscores the importance of complementary domestic policies and infrastructure, particularly in the context of digital trade, where investment in technology and regulatory frameworks is crucial. The findings suggest that 12while trade policy can drive economic integration, its success depends on the presence of supportive domestic conditions. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to trade policy that considers the unique challenges and opportunities within each sector.

EVALUATION OF GLOBAL INNOVATION PERFORMANCES WITH INTEGRATED MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING METHODS: EU APPLICATION

Sevda Gürsakal — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the measurement of innovation performance of EU countries with integrated multi-criteria decision making methods and to explain the relationships between them and the realized Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking. Since the GII innovation performance measurement problem is defined in an integrated hierarchical structure and solved with this logic, it is thought to contribute to the literature. The input and output sub-indices in the Global Innovation Index 2023 report are defined in a hierarchical structure and an integrated path is followed from the lowest criterion to the target. The criteria weights of the EU countries were calculated by the entropy method, one of the objective weight determination methods, and the weights found were added to the model and country rankings were realized by TOPSIS method.

In the calculation of criteria weights using GII scores, Business Sophistication has the highest weight with 0.21, while Infrastructure has the lowest weight with 0.027.After the Global Innovation Index criteria weights of EU countries are calculated by entropy method, the GII scores of 28 EU countries are analyzed by TOPSIS method using each weight and rankings are obtained. As a result of the ranking using the entropy-based TOPSIS method, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands took the first 3 places in terms of innovation performance. The 3 countries with the lowest performance were Croatia, Slovakia and Romania. These top three and bottom three countries were the same in both the GII ranking and the Entropy-based TOPSIS ranking. In general, the GII and Entropy-based TOPSIS country rankings give very similar results. The fact that the calculated rank correlation coefficient is very close to 1 supports this conclusion. For future studies using global innovation index data, it may be suggested to model the problem in a hierarchical structure with different methods and to make comparisons starting from the first year the report was published. In addition, it may be possible to conduct different analyses on subjective weighting methods by using the evaluations of decision makers belonging to different professional groups.

THE ROLE OF FED SPEECH SENTIMENT SIGNALS IN SHAPING US MARKET RESPONSE

Asma Arshad — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Federal Reserve's communication shapes US investor decisions and market dynamics. This paper examines the impact of the Fed governor speeches' sentiments signals on the US equity market performance from June 1996 to Sep 2023. The sentiment index is calculated using individual Lexicon dictionaries (AFINN, Bing, NRC, and Loughran McDonald) and their combined PCA scores. Our findings revealed a negative relationship suggesting that a positive (negative) sentiment brings a significant decrease (increase) in the cumulative abnormal return on the event window (+2). These results provide valuable insights into the dynamic nature of the US equity market in response to the Federal Reserve’s communication for regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders of the equity market.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE DECISION MAKING TO CHOOSE DANCE SCHOOL IN BANGKOK METROPOLITAN AREA

Yasita Deerod, Thirarut Worapishet — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates factors influencing the decision-making process of individuals choosing dance schools in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to identify key determinants such as location, reputation, cost, curriculum, and instructor qualifications. Findings reveal that while cost and location are significant, the reputation of the school and instructor qualifications play crucial roles. The study aims to provide insights for dance school administrators to better understand their target market and improve their offerings. Objectives include studying the demographic characteristics of those who choose dance schools in Bangkok, examining consumer behavior toward the dance school industry, and analyzing the importance of the marketing mix (product, price, distribution channel, promotion, process, image, and presentation) for prospective students. Methods involve a quantitative approach with descriptive research and surveys. Cluster 1 is diverse in gender, with many young adults and middle-aged respondents, including students, private company officers, and lower to mid-income earners. Consumer behavior in this cluster shows a balanced interest in various dance courses, lower study expenses, a preference for evening study times, and a high preference for weekend study times. Cluster 2 is predominantly female, younger, and more diverse in occupation and income levels, with higher education levels and higher income earners. This cluster focuses on finding special skills and talents, with a strong preference for specific dance courses (especially K-pop Dance), more diverse and higher study expenses, balanced study times throughout the day, and varied main study times, including weekends and combined times. In conclusion, the importance of the marketing mix (7Ps) segments consumers into two clusters in this study.

EXPLORING REMOTE WORK ADOPTION AMONG FINANCE PROFESSIONALS IN A SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATE: A CONCEPTUAL STUDY FOR THE POST-COVID-19 ERA

Leenshya Gunnoo — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered traditional work environments, compelling many organizations to adopt remote working models. This conceptual study explores the impact of remote work on the productivity of finance professionals in the post-COVID-19 era, particularly in Mauritius. Drawing on the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA), the research investigates the influence of personal well-being, environmental factors, and resource constraints on work-from-home (WFH) productivity. The study aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by providing theoretical insights into the unique challenges and opportunities associated with remote work in the finance sector. The research intends to adopt a quantitative methodology, utilizing a systematically sampled survey to collect data from finance professionals. The survey instrument will be adapted from established studies, ensuring reliability and validity through rigorous pretesting and validation using the Rasch Model. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) will be employed to analyze the relationships between the constructs, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing WFH productivity.The findings are expected to offer valuable insights for senior management and policymakers in optimizing remote work strategies, particularly in maintaining productivity and well-being among finance professionals. The study acknowledges its limitations, including the lack of empirical data and the focus on a specific sector and geographic region. Future research should address these limitations by incorporating real-world data and expanding the scope to other industries and regions, thereby enhancing the generalizability and applicability of the findings.

CHARTING THE COURSE: EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF ONLINE EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AND EFFICIENCY IN MAURITIUS' SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Leenshya Gunnoo — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This conceptual study examines the challenges faced by secondary school educators in Mauritius in adopting online classrooms, particularly after COVID-19. It evaluates online education as a tool for enhancing education quality, focusing on gender, ICT infrastructure, and educators' technological and pedagogical knowledge. Through qualitative research, specifically in-depth interviews, the study explores educators' experiences and perceptions. The conceptual analysis suggests that gender may influence educators' attitudes toward technology, with female educators potentially facing more challenges. The availability of robust ICT infrastructure and technical support is crucial for educators' readiness to adopt online teaching. Additionally, educators' knowledge of technology and its pedagogical use is key to successfully integrating online learning. These conceptual insights are intended to guide future research and policy decisions, highlighting the need for targeted professional development and strategic investments in ICT to support online education adoption in Mauritius. Future research should include empirical data and expand to other regions and educational levels for a broader understanding of online education adoption.

IMPACT MODEL OF SOME FACTORS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Vo Tan Phong, Mai Thi Anh Tuyet, Do Van Ly — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research explores the effects of human resource management practices, organizational culture, organizational innovation, and intellectual capital on organizational performance, with a focus on enterprises in Vietnam. Utilizing foundational theories such as the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability Theory, the study integrates these elements to provide a comprehensive understanding of their combined impact. The methodology employs Structural Equation Modeling to analyze data collected from representative firms, ensuring robust insights. Findings demonstrate that human resource management practices significantly influence employee satisfaction and productivity, while an innovation-oriented organizational culture enhances adaptability and creativity. Furthermore, investment in intellectual capital drives competitive advantage, and organizational innovation directly contributes to improved performance outcomes. These results offer critical implications for both academic research and practical applications, providing strategies for business leaders to enhance operational effectiveness and sustain competitive performance in dynamic markets.

DETERMINANTS OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESSES IN NINH THUAN PROVINCE

Mai Thi Anh Tuyet, Vo Tan Phong, Do Van Ly — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research explores the critical factors influencing organizational performance in businesses based in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam. Leveraging key theoretical frameworks, including Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability Theory, the study evaluates the impacts of human resource management practices, organizational culture, organizational innovation, intellectual capital, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Using Structural Equation Modeling, data from 412 senior and middle-level managers were analyzed to validate the proposed hypotheses. The findings highlight that organizational culture exerts the most significant influence on performance, followed closely by OCB, intellectual capital, HRM practices, and organizational innovation. These results underscore the interplay between these factors, emphasizing the need for a robust organizational culture, strategic HRM, and proactive engagement in intellectual capital development. The study provides a comprehensive foundation for managerial strategies aimed at improving organizational efficiency, fostering innovation, and ensuring sustainable growth in competitive markets.

AN EXAMINATION OF PARENTAL SATISFACTION WITH CHILDCARE SERVICES IN HOSPITAL-AFFILIATED PRESCHOOLS IN TAIWAN

Ching-Kuo Wei, Mao-Hung Liao, Ting-Chih Chin — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyzed parents’ satisfaction towards the facilities, child care service, and environment of hospital- affiliated Preschools in Taiwan. Suggestions were provided for hospital-affiliated Preschools to improve the service satisfaction. The research questionnaires for this study were distributed from September to November 2023, as the questionnaire survey method was adopted to study the service satisfaction of eight hospital-affiliated Preschools in Taiwan. A total of 1183 questionnaires were sent out, and 736 valid questionnaires were retrieved. The questionnaire was reviewed and revised by three experts. The overall Cronbach's Alpha was 0.968, and the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS.The results of the study revealed the following. There were no significant differences in all dimensions in terms of the demographic variables of age and occupation, while there were significant differences in the educational level for all dimensions.In terms of hospital location, it was found that the hospitals in the northern part of Taiwan were better than those in the southern part of Taiwan. The correlations between all the dimensions were found to be highly significant and positive in the analysis. The education and care dimension had the highest impact on the child care services. Parents attached the highest importance to the education and care dimension of child care services, so Preschools should do their best in terms of teacher qualifications, teaching methods, teaching materials and teaching aids in order to gain parents' trust. In addition, all dimensions were interlocked, so as long as one of the dimensions can be effectively improved, the other dimensions would also improve. It is suggested that all dimensions should be paid attention to and developed, so that not only the parents can see them, but also the children can grow up safely and happily, and service satisfaction could be greatly improved.

IMPACTS OF GREEN TRAINING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF LOGISTICS COPMANIES

Doan Thi Chuyen — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores the effects of green training, green intellectual capital, and green logistics practices on the performance and sustainability of logistics enterprises, focusing on firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A quantitative methodology, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was applied to analyze data from 437 respondents representing logistics firms. The results affirm that green training enhances employees’ environmental skills and awareness, leading to improved operational efficiency and reduced ecological impact. Green intellectual capital supports innovation, fostering long-term competitive advantages, while green logistics practices streamline processes, lower costs, and enhance sustainability. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of sustainable development by emphasizing the strategic importance of green practices in achieving economic and environmental goals within the logistics industry. The study offers actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders aiming to integrate sustainability into organizational frameworks.

IMPACT MODEL OF GREEN TRAINING ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Doan Thi Chuyen — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000